Wheeler-Dealer

Hummingbird case created by John Gould and purchased by Frederick McCoy.

McCoy's vision for science in Victoria could only have been achieved by his resorting to extraordinary means. The historical record is peppered with evidence of the tenacious methods by which he set out to realise his ambitions.

His masterstroke came in 1856, a year after arriving in Victoria. Having undermined the reputation of William Blandowski, curator and first government scientist, McCoy seized the moment and commandeered the collection of the National Museum, keeping it firmly under his control at the University until his death in 1899.

Hummingbird case created by John Gould and purchased by Frederick McCoy.

Possessing the genesis of a significant collection, McCoy sought to augment it with strategic acquisitions from the world's finest naturalists and taxidermists. At first the authorities were flabbergasted by his audacity and, despite repeated efforts, could not reign him in.

In 1865 gorillas were still quite new to science, and the notion that apes and humans shared common ancestry was being hotly debated. McCoy rejected this notion and acquired a group of Lowland Gorillas from Gerrard and Sons of Camden Place, London; via the press he implored visitors to see the dramatic specimens for themselves.

To obtain birds for 'a good systematic Zoological Museum', McCoy routinely ordered specimens from renowned 'bird man' John Gould, without authority from treasury. Despite Gould's seemingly perpetual frustration over tardy payments, in excess of 5000 specimens were dispatched to Melbourne from 1857 to 1876.1

This case includes 203 species of hummingbirds.

McCoy also frustrated the artists he employed, expecting images at unattainable levels of precision whilst simultaneously delaying payment. Ludwig Becker's imploring correspondence revealed his predicament over tardy payments by the Professor, upon whom he relied for commissions.

Frustrated with McCoy's cavalier approach to public funds, the State Government created a Board of Trustees of the Museum expressly to constrain his expenditure. While his passion for exotic specimens bordered on the obsessive, his legacy in the form of one of the best natural history collections of its era is one the Museum still relies upon for much of its allure.


1Anthea Fleming, 'Birds, Books and Money: McCoy's Correspondence with John Gould (1857 - 1876)', The Victorian Naturalist, McCoy Special Edition, Volume 118 (6), 2001.

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